


Bleeding Horizons

by InnogenRenz



Series: Klaus and Finral AU [4]
Category: Black Clover - Tabata Yuki (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Black Bulls Squad as Family (Black Clover), Drama, Flirting, Hijinks & Shenanigans, I hate/love Langris so i will force character development down his throat, Kissing, Klaus and Vanessa brOTP, Langris is no longer vice captain here sorry, M/M, Making Out, Multi, Okay its like once, Planned before anime filler arc, Secret Relationship, Supportive Mimosa Vermillion, They love the GD trio as their weird cousins, filler arc, later on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:14:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27242524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InnogenRenz/pseuds/InnogenRenz
Summary: A communication mishap leads to conflict as the Golden Dawn is invited over for a training day with the Black Bulls, an offer originally only extended to Klaus, Mimosa and Yuno. Unfortunately, the rest of the Golden Dawn don't quite know about Finral and Klaus' relationship, and so a day of relative fun and drills becomes tense and harsh as everything seems to spiral. Can they manage to smooth over rocky squad relations while still keeping everything under wraps?
Relationships: Finral Roulacase & Langris Vaude, Klaus Lunette & Mimosa Vermillion & Yuno, Klaus Lunette/Finral Roulacase, Vanessa Enoteca & Finral Roulacase
Series: Klaus and Finral AU [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1489658
Comments: 16
Kudos: 37





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, I'm back in Roulettes hell! I planned this out a month or so before the anime arc, so there are some non canon elements I'd bet. (I haven't watched the filler arc yet... oops...) anyways my Tumblr is @Innogens-breadsticks so feel free to pop on over.

The words "Oh god" and "Oh no" were switching rapidly flooding through Finral's frenzied thoughts, echoing louder and louder as his heartbeat grew with them. Rapidly pacing around the expansive stone room known as the Black Bulls living area, arms tightly crossed against himself, he was only partially aware of the stares following him. Personally, he thought he was handling everything in a perfectly reasonable manner. That was to say, he hadn't chucked a plate at someone's head, so perhaps it was a lower bar than he'd thought.

"Come on, it's gonna be fine!" Vanessa finally called out, holding a cup of water, paused on its journey to her mouth, "It's a small hiccup, nothing we can't handle."

"Nothing we can't handle?!" Finral repeated, whipping around to face her with an indignant look on his face, "There are many things we can't handle! This being one of them!"

"I strongly object to that statement!" Vanessa replied, leaning back to stretch out on the couch, "We're nothing if not adaptable."

"By 'adaptable' you mean 'just bumble our way through it and hope it turns out fine'!" He screeched, his stance was firm, tense as screwed his face up with panic.

"I'm pretty sure that's the definition." Vanessa said, pointing at him.

"It's not!" He yelled, throwing his hands out.

"Jeez, keep it down!" Noelle sighed, rubbing her temples, "And I thought Dorksta was loud!"

"Noelle!" Asta said, looking almost hurt.

"Well, it's true!" She defended, crossing her arms.

"Can you two be quiet?!" Finral chastised, frantically screeching as his hands tensed up into claws around his face.

They were taken aback, eyes wide as they watched their senior continue to breathe heavily.

Finral swallowed, the moisture in his mouth vanishing the moment he saw the frightened looks on their faces.

"Sorry... I... I shouldn't have yelled like that." He stood up straighter, "You didn't deserve that."

Noelle crossed her arms, "It's insulting you think that bothered me."

Her voice was taught and her posture was tense, shaky in a way that was all too familiar. Finral felt the pit in his stomach deepen and the urge to apologize again rose.

"Are you okay?" Asta asked with wide eyes, oblivious as usual.

"Just stressed." He spoke, clipped and looking away.

"You realize you're gonna have to tell Yami about this. Right?" Vanessa piped up from the couch.

He groaned in defeat, "That's if Captain Vangeance hasn't already."

"Tell Yami about what?" Asta pressed, practically vibrating with curiosity.

"Nothing-" Finral tried to insist.

"That our resident flirt accidentally invited the entire Golden Dawn to train instead of his boyfriend." Vanessa smirked, watching mirthfully as said flirt sputtered in protest.

"Okay, first of all-" He pointed at her, scowl affixed to his face, "-I'm not flirt anymore! So jot that down! And second…" Finral struggled to come up with another criticism.

"You did _what_?" Noelle almost shrieked, turning to Finral.

"It was a mistake! And not at all my fault so stop giving me that look!"

"This is absolutely your fault!" She glared.

"If you want to blame someone, blame Klaus!"

Vanessa whistled, "Throwing your boyfriend under the carriage, low."

"Shut up!" He hissed, "I didn't mean it, I'm just stressed!"

"Wait until I tell him that." She smirked, "Bet he'll be real happy about it."

He turned to look at her, evident shock screwing up his features, "You wouldn't dare."

"Oh?" Vanessa leaned in, wicked grin playing on her reddened lips, "You want to test that?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose, "Okay, usually, I at least semi-enjoy our banter, but I'm, like, legitimately freaking out over here."

She threw back her head as easy laughter peeled out from it, "Listen, it's not a big deal! His squad isn't expecting much, so, like, go with the flow! We can help!"

Finral looked over at Noelle and Asta with absolute defeat in his eyes, "Would you guys do that?"

They looked at each other hesitantly, Noelle shifted her crossed arms as Asta awkwardly chuckled.

"Well…"

"Oh, thank god!" Finral threw his hands up in relief, almost hysterical in his jubilance, "I just need you two for some matches, so, you know, easy!"

"You want us to _fight_ some extras from the Golden Dawn?" Noelle indignantly replied, eyebrows shooting up towards her hairline.

"Yes! If you could, please?" Finral's hands clasped in front of his face, eyes wide so he could silently plead.

Noelle rolled her eyes, "I might be busy, you know?"

"But you're not, Noelle!" Asta looked at with his face quirked up in confusion.

"But _he_ didn't know that!" She chastised.

"Well, I do now." Finral crossed his arms, "And I really do need help, Noelle. It's just for today!"

"Ugh, fine. But you and your stupid boyfriend owe me!" She pointed at him as menacingly as she could.

"Ah! Thank you, you won't regret this!" Finral stopped, "Actually, I can't promise that."

"Wonderful." Noelle rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry, you won't be alone." Asta nudged her with his shoulder, "I'll be there too!"

"You're both lifesavers!" Finral cheered, tearing up.

"Don't cry!" Noelle ordered, looking almost scandalized, "It's weird, and I don't wanna deal with it!"

"You can't say that!" Asta frowned, "People need to express emotions."

"Do they?" Vanessa chimed in from her spot on the couch.

"Yes!" Finral shouted as he ran a hand over his face, "Actually, we really don't have time to argue about this right now, considering we have to host about ten other people!"

"Oh, shush!" Vanessa waved her hand at him, "I'll take care of it!"

"W-What?" Finral sputtered, freezing in place.

"You heard me." She laughed, light, and airy, a familiar and warm sound, "I'll get Charmy to make something and then I’ll go wrangle the others. You look like you could use a break."

"Vanessa…" He said very seriously, staring her down with hardened eyes, "I would kiss you if I wasn't unavailable."

Howling laughter filled the room, "As if you could get all this!"

"Haha. Laugh it up." He mocked, "But only one of us here is in a relationship."

"Ah, my friend, you think I'm single unwillingly?" Vanessa cocked an eyebrow, "Really?"

Finral leaned back, pouting mildly as he refused to meet her teasing gaze.

"Great!" She slammed her hands on the table, pushing off of it at the same time, "Now that we have that resolved, I'll go grab the brats. You come up with, uh, something passable."

"Right." Finral swallowed, a colder feeling sticking in his throat.

Vanessa stepped over to him, smiling slightly, and clapped his shoulder, "Good luck. I don't envy you." She faced the two teenagers that stood off to the side, "Come on you two, let's go find everyone and leave the planning to the idiot."

"I resent that."

"I know." She gave his cheek a firm pat, "That's why I say it. Good luck."

She gestured for Noelle and Asta to follow, and they did without complaint, jealousy briefly streaked through his muddled mind at that. But the living room was vacant, a rarity, and he had an hour to come up with a workable training idea for the Golden Dawn's members. He sighed, sagging his way over to the couch. Life really didn't care for him.

* * *

Mimosa was staring at him, too amused to be hidden by a false indifference. Yuno was as well. His indifference, however, was most likely real, the annoyance on his face definitely was. Klaus refused to give them the satisfaction of acknowledgment.

Though their mischievous and impish tendencies were almost preferable to the cold glares most of his squad had been shooting him. Alecdora, especially. But he didn't care for anyone connected to Yuno, so that wasn't entirely unusual. 

Still, he felt himself under the intense scrutiny of the confused to the outright angered, Klaus was already embarrassed, but the looks only made it worse. He really hadn't meant to drag them all along with him, Captain Vangeance was just… hard to say no to.

He had tried to explain that it was an offer that extended only to him and his small squad of three, but Captain Vangeance had already gone and called for the others, too taken up with the idea of joint training. Especially with the Black Bulls.

It was no secret that Captain Vangeance felt an extraordinary amount of guilt for the incident months prior, he had, after all, let Licht (now Patri?) go through with his plan to destroy the Clover Kingdom, conscripting his own squad to be unwilling soldiers along the way. Their captain was eager to make up for it.

Klaus was unsure how to view it. He had _admired_ the man, looked up to him for years, but he had been planning on using him the entire time, to use the knights that had dedicated their lives to the protection and safety of others, and force them to destroy everything they had sacrificed to keep. It was horrifying. What if they had succeeded? It didn’t help that the elves themselves were unwitting pawns, playing to the whims of a greater, more malevolent being. If anything, it made it so much _worse_.

If Asta and the Captains hadn’t been there, they would’ve all died, the world would’ve been lost. Captain Vangeance recognized that, and shouldered the guilt for it all. Klaus was sure he deserved that, at least. But as long as his captain was going to improve, going to try and be better for the sake of the kingdom he had once been complicit in helping to destroy, then maybe the respect that had been there would slowly come back. Maybe he could forgive him for lying. Maybe.

But this... _eagerness_ to try and help led to oversights, rash decisions which created less than optimal situations, like the one they were currently in. Their Captain was also looking to mend the relations between squads, which had already been strained before the elves had attacked. The Black Bulls had been integral in protecting the kingdom, despite the many obstacles placed in their path, most of which had been created by the possessed Golden Dawn.

Really, Klaus should’ve seen this coming. Unfortunately, he thought that he would’ve been able to get away with it like he had in getting days off, but he had grown complacent. Then he only had a mere hour before he, and nine others, were to be at the Black Bull’s base. Though, the conversation with Finral had been awkward, and full of apologies as he warned him about what was coming. And it had started off so well…

“Klaus!” Finral’s ecstatic form had filled the caller with a blue light, “How’d it go? Did it work? Are you coming over?”

Klaus looked away, “Uh, the training idea worked, yes.”

"That’s great!” Finral cheered, grinning broadly, “Vanessa’s gonna be stoked!”

“Right.” Klaus swallowed, words becoming lodged in his throat.

“Huh? What’s wrong?” Finral’s face fell.

“The idea might have worked… _too_ well.” He winced.

His projected face screwed up in confusion, “What do you mean?”

“Captain Vangeance may have thought it was such a good idea that he turned it into a team building exercise with more people than we wanted?” Klaus let the words rush out in an almost incoherent sentence.

“...what?!” Finral squeaked, looking frantic.

“I’m sorry! I don’t know what happened, he just got so excited and started talking over me! Before I knew it, he recruited everyone else!” Klaus ran a hand through his fringed hair, “I just thought I should warn you!”

“Oh my god.” Finral muttered, hand over his face, “We’re screwed. We’re so screwed.”

“I know, I know!” Klaus sighed, “But we can figure it out! They’re not expecting much, so it should be fine!”

“They’re not expecting much?” Finral repeated indignantly .

Klaus paused, “That’s not what I meant.”

Finral sighed, “Yeah… sorry, just… UGH!”

“That’s just our luck, huh?” Klaus softly muttered, shaking his head.

"It really is." Finral groaned with a smile, "I'm surprised it took so long for something bad to happen."

"At least we're not waiting in anticipation anymore." Klaus agreed.

"No. I guess not." Finral paused for a second, "Still sucks our day got ruined."

Klaus laughed, short and mild but still filled with humor, "You wanted to see Yuno and Asta endlessly bicker for hours at a time?"

Finral snorted, "No! But it would've been nice to see Mimosa try and put them both in their places."

"You _want_ her to start being scary again?" He teased, grinning broadly.

Finral shuddered, "It's funny when it's not you."

"I suppose. It would've been nice, training together I mean."

"Yeah. It would've." Finral took a beat, smiling with a mischievous edge, "Although Asta would've challenged you to a strength contest, just for kicks."

He shook his head fondly, "Most likely. I'll… I'll see you there. I'm going to stall, as long as I can."

Finral stiffened, "Okay. Right. That."

"I really am sorry." Klaus offered, "I think Captain Vangeance was just excited about our squads hanging out."

"A weird way to put it." Finral tried to laugh, but the furious darting of his eyes gave away his panic, "Bye, Klaus."

"See you in a bit."

He flipped the top closed and his heart gave a funny little twist. Klaus would make it up to him later, hopefully.

Still, even as he was hundreds of feet up in the sky, riding towards a place where he had to put on another persona, Finral's panic took up most of the space in his mind. It was disconcerting, how something so seemingly insignificant and mild about someone else could be something to agonize and ponder over. How he wanted nothing more than to reach over the miles that kept them apart and-

"Klaus!"

He startled, whipping his head around to catch who'd been calling his name. Eventually he landed on Mimosa's impatient face, cheeks slightly puffed in an indignant show of annoyance.

"Yes?"

"I've been calling your name." She said, glaring with a serene smile and angelic grace, "Some people have, um, questions about today."

He stilled, "Right, of course they would."

He turned to the mass of broomsticks following him, each dotted with their own uniformed figures, ranging from disinterested to staring at him expectantly. At the front was Alecdora, sharply waiting for an explanation, flanking him were Siren and Hamon, and Klaus silently thanked whatever god there was for bestowing mercy upon him. Alecdora was painful on his own, but Siren and his constant, thinking silence partnered with Hamon's endless amusement and cheer balanced him out, their friendship was certainly odd considering their personalities but he couldn't really judge them.

Letoile and David sat somewhere in the middle, always next to each other despite the exasperation that seemed to follow the bespectacled woman whenever she dealt with him. David, as always, was teasing her, asking her to gamble. It was familiar, fond even, as she admonished him with a simple repeating of his name.

Gris sat alone, silently facing away from the chattering conversations, his nose turned up and shoulders set back. The man was disagreeable on his best days, but there was an undeniable similarity between the two of them, at least with Klaus' past self. Gris would violently deny any sort of camaraderie he felt, despite obviously partaking in it.

Still, he was easier to get along with now, especially since Asta's visit during the squad exchange months ago. His stubbornness remained persistent despite that, but Klaus had long grown used to it.

"Okay!" Mimosa clapped, her hands next to her titled head, "Who wants to go first?"

Hands shot up almost immediately, before being pulled back down and a uniform look of shame was shared. A bad habit from their schooling that was hard to break.

"I'll start." Alecdora cleared his throat, "Why did our illustrious, talented Captain decide to send _us_ to one of the lowest ranked squads in the kingdom?"

"They _did_ get second place in the Star Festival." Hamon reminded him, leaning over with a wink.

Siren nodded and Alecdora scowled at them both.

Klaus swallowed, "I mentioned in passing that the Black Bulls offered to do joint training with my squad, and Captain Vangeance believed it would be best if more of us went along to, uh, make amends if need be."

"Make amends?" He repeated, almost indignantly.

"We did attack them, when we weren't… ourselves." Letoile coughed into her fist, obviously uncomfortable with whatever memories the possession had left her with.

Alecdora crossed his arms, but didn't say anything more.

"Excellent." Mimosa easily smiled, "Anything else?"

"Over here!" David enthusiastically waved as he teetered dangerously off his broomstick.

Letoile glared at him. Mimosa nodded at him, giving permission for him to continue.

"Okay, so! What can we expect, like, personality wise?" David tilted his head.

"That's…" Klaus glanced over at Yuno and Mimosa with a small grimace, "Do we have enough time for that?"

She looked uneasy, turning away from him to avoid giving an answer. Yuno raised an eyebrow. They were no help at all.

"Thank you both." He sighed, looking over his shoulder, back to David's expectant gaze, "How do you feel about loud noises and possible bodily harm?"

* * *

"Shit, shit, shit!" Finral paced across the wide open yard surrounding the front of the base, cursing under his breath.

"Come on Finral, it's fine!" Asta cheered, "We have a plan, and we're ready to help! a! One hundred percent!"

"You don't speak for me." Gauche spit venomously, glaring out from under his long bangs.

"It's a good thing he doesn't." Noelle rolled her eyes, fidgeting in place next to Asta, "I'm not sure if I could stand it."

"Tch." He clicked his tongue, going back to staring off in the distance with his hands tucked deep into his pocket.

"Where's Vanessa?! She said she was getting Charmy!" Finral stopped pacing to direct the frantic question at the small group.

"I-It's f-fine! I'm s-sure she'll be here s-soon!" Grey tried to assure him from the spot where she huddled next to Gordon, who nodded along with her.

He whimpered miserably as a response and Magna tried to pat his shoulder with as much schooled sympathy as he could summon. It came off awkward and stilted and Luck snorted with laughter.

"Sh-Shut up!" Magna hissed, flushing red, "You try and do this!"

"Don't encourage him!" Finral snapped, turning to look at him with a glare, "You know what he'll do!"

Luck giggled. Magna nervously scratched at the back of his head, avoiding his carefully styled Mohawk.

“Hey! I’m baaaack!” A familiar voice sung out across the yard.

Vanessa stood smiling, airily ignorant, if not willfully so, of her friend’s panicked disposition.

"Vanessa!" Finral shrieked, "Where have you been?!"

"Chill." She rolled her eyes, "Always with the dramatics. I was just grabbing some things."

"I'm not a "thing"!" A voice protested, the figure behind it stepping into view.

The familiar open-chested outfit was as gaudy as always, studded with metal spikes, the striking red hair contrasting heavily with the leathered black wrapped around his face. Zora had finally deemed them worthy of an appearance. Joy.

Charmy popped out from behind him, nibbling on something. With a quick shoo motion, Vanessa encouraged her to go inside, hopefully to make food. They could at least pretend to have basic manners.

Finral pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Vanessa…" He began with a heavy sigh.

"Come on! You can't tell me that his trap magic won't pose an interesting challenge." She grabbed onto the ash mage's arm, proudly showing him off, "Sure he has a mouthy streak but who doesn't? And don't you need someone to draw ire besides you and your beloved, dear-"

"Okay! Okay! I get it!" He held his hand up to her smug visage, "Fine, he can stay."

"Don't I get a say in this?" Zora testily interjected, hands on his hips.

"Oh, absolutely not." Vanessa patted his cheek, "Welcome to the Black Bulls."

He gave her a salacious grin, "I hate it already."

"That's the spirit!"

Finral covered his face with one hand, "I'm too tired for this."

“Hope you’re not too tired to act.” Vanessa called with an underlying tone of mischief, when he met her eyes, she gave him a quick wink, “Looks like our guests are here.”

Her pointed hand was raised towards the horizon, just above the treetops that were scattered around them all. He, with great anguish, followed her extended finger to the sight of far off dots, moving towards them with all the speed and manner of a funeral procession.

With one quick breath, Finral spun around to face the disjointed, bored group of magic knights.

“Okay! I know no one wanted to do this today, least of all me, but please, for the love of god, just go with the plan?”

The silence he was met with was not inspiring.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

"Don't worry, we'll do our best!" Asta cheered, too bright for the atmosphere that had deeply settled.

Finral looked at him, "Asta. You're my favorite."

Noelle sputtered, indignantly growing red in the face.

"You're okay too, Noelle." Finral assuaged her nonsensical mutterings, albeit slightly dazed and without much presence, "Asta's just so positive, y'know?"

She huffed, glaring at the ground.

"Whatever…"

"Awww, jealous?" Zora mockingly cooed, hunching over with his hands in his pockets.

"Shut up!" She snapped.

"Don't worry Noelle, you'll go back to being his favorite tomorrow." Vanessa said, smiling.

She rolled them, but the smug gleam in her violet eyes was hard to miss.

"Incorrect. I have no favorites. Usually." Finral paused, thinking on it, "Actually… do I?"

"You do." Vanessa nodded.

Everyone else made slight sounds of acknowledgement.

"Okay, quiet!" Finral shushed them while waving his hand around, "Just… try and act normal, alright? They'll be here any minute…"

* * *

As soon as they set down, the air had become electrified, brimming with awkward silence, simmering animosity, and mutual ignoring of the fact that most of the Golden Dawn had tried to kill the Black Bulls while possessed.

Klaus wasn't happy about being put in charge of it all.

Still, he did what he'd been trained for, and stepped forward as their temporary leader. Others had seniority, but _he_ had been the one to get the "mission" directly from the Captain, it only made sense.

"Hello everyone. I'm sure some of you know me already but my name is Klaus Lunettes. And those behind me are a few members of the Golden Dawn we brought along for joint training today." Stepping back he gestured broadly, trying not to grimace with a silent apology, "I hope we can have a productive day."

There was silence. Choking, awkward, _awful_ silence. The Golden Dawn shifted behind him, he could just picture their varying stances, some looking defiantly down on the Black Bulls while others refused to meet anyone's eyes, the guilt too overwhelming. And the Black Bulls… looked way too pleased with themselves.

Finally, he allowed himself to look over at Finral. He was looking firmly away, one arm crossed over his body and tightly gripping the other, styled hair flopping over his forehead. Such a familiar sight yet exhilarating with its newness; the way his forehead creased with thought, features folding together into a new symposium of emotion, the gentle light creeping over skin that illuminated him, the very air was charged with his presence and Klaus could not help the breath that caught in his throat.

Finral looked up.

With the way his eyes widened and the new flush dusting his cheeks, Finral was having very similar thoughts. The very idea made Klaus giddy, the rising excitement was almost dizzying. Had they been alone…

"Klaus, dear, no need to be so formal! You're practically family after all!"

Vanessa's teasing, exuberant voice tore him away from Finral. She was standing at the forefront of the Black Bulls, one hand on her hip, the other fiddling with a piece of her hair. She looked casual, resting all her weight to one side. A tactic to make them more relaxed. Smart.

"Oh! Mimosa and Yuno too!" She waved at them.

"Hello, Ms. Vanessa!" Mimosa chirped, excitedly waving back.

Yuno nodded once.

The rest of the Golden Dawn looked on with moderate, understandable given the situation, confusion.

"Well, Vanessa, I thought it was pertinent to get the professional bits out of the way." Klaus allowed himself a smile as he pushed up his glasses, "It's nice to see you as well."

"Aw, get over here!" She threw her arms open.

Despite the embarrassment that tinged his skin with obvious pink, he stepped forward to meet her in the middle. Throwing her arms around him, she laughed easily. Not all of it was for show, she did seem genuinely happy to see him. The feeling was mutual.

Pulling back, she gave him pat on the face, before setting her sights on his two subordinates.

"You two are next!" She called out.

"Come on, Vanessa!" Asta ran up next to her, "You can't hog them all!"

Luck trailed after, ignoring Asta, "Hey Klaus! I hear we're fighting, right? Right?!"

Klaus winced, "Well-"

Magna popped up next to Luck, putting a hand on his shoulder to ground him, "Sorry, man, he's just excited."

"Yeah, I am!"

Noelle stumbled next to Asta, she spoke distantly, "Hey, Four-Eyes."

"...hello, Noelle."

"YUNO, YOU JERK!" Asta shrieked, startling them all.

He had gravitated towards the sullen boy, Mimosa just happened to be next to him, and had his hand raised up to the top of Yuno's head.

"YOU GOT TALLER!"

"Or you shrunk."

Asta opened his mouth, and Klaus prepared his eardrums for another verbal beating.

"Asta. Please." Mimosa put her hand on his arm, "Later."

He visibly deflated. 

"Sorry, Mimosa."

Klaus finally turned back to get a good reading on his squad.

They were certainly… surprised. Some stared in revulsion, horror at the sights of familiarity and friendship with such a supposedly lowly group happening before them. Others were uncomfortable, shooting odd looks towards him, trying not to look like they were paying too much attention. Understandable, truly.

Something light tapped his shoulder. He turned.

Open, deep coral eyes met his. Familiar with the sight, he let the edges of his vision darken, something easy twisted the edge of his mouth up. Finral looked nervous, his fingers twisted at each other. Klaus smothered the need to reach out and knit them with his own. 

"Hello, Finral."

"Hey, Klaus. Good to see you."

Klaus stuck his hand out. The interaction wouldn't look too odd to any outsiders. Carefully, Finral lifted his and they met in the middle. One careful, not quite extended shake later, they parted. Immediately, he missed the contact, the warmth, the brushing of Finral's thumb against the back of his hand, a reassuring, quick thing that ghosted on the edge of his memory.

Trying not to melt into a puddle, Klaus wondered how the hell they were going to survive an entire day of this. Well, they'd done it once before, surely it wouldn't be so difficult the second time. Right?

Finral smiled and he felt himself immediately go red.

Oh, today was going to be no fun at all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not me posting this months late, ahaha... anyways... hope you enjoy. My Tumblr is @Innogens-breadsticks so feel free to pop in over or whatever.

The exhausting anxiety that had been playing at his nerves all day was finally quieting. Finral knew it was almost embarrassing how much that particular reaction depended on Klaus' presence, on the solemn air he managed to bring with him almost constantly, and, of course, the underlying current of warmth waiting just beneath it.

But Klaus was reassuring, an almost constant source of support, radiating muted affection through minute little ways; fragile bits of stuttered love that came through in actions, and almost never in words.

Even now as the bespectacled knight surveyed his hesitating squad with an awkward sweep of his head, Finral could see the genuine concern resting primly behind the firm set of his face. Klaus obviously wanted this to go well, the nervousness etched into the twitching of his fingers as they fiddled with his glasses.

And Finral, well, he just wanted to not completely embarrass himself. And staring would definitely do that, he woefully reminded himself. With great hesitation, he tore his eyes away.

Really, how no one had figured them out sooner was mind blowing. Besides the half dozen or so nosy teenagers, but they were already supernaturally predisposed for falling into the weirdest situations, so they were definitely outliers, to him at least.

Vanessa's side eye was enough to let him know that he wasn't being nearly as subtle as he thought. But really, subtlety and Finral were like oil and water, always skimming off the other tempestuously. Wasn't the loudness of his aesthetic and personality telling enough? And yet he still tried, desperately.

Unconsciously, he ran a hand through his gelled hair, a time-consuming project that was more work than it was worth at times but still, the modicum of joy he managed to get was worth it. It was tacky and hardened to the touch, and he was probably going to have to fix it later, but it was a distraction nonetheless.

The greetings had died down, leaving the two groups awkwardly silent as they muttered at each other with forced politeness. Most of the Golden Dawn glanced toward Vanessa, looking to her as the de facto leader. But she pretended not to notice, silently preening as she sent a wink Finral's way. Well, let it be known that she was still probably one of his best friends despite the tendency to throw him to the wolves.

"H-Hey everyone!"

His voice fell flat, dying out on the open ground stretched between the Golden Dawn and the Black Bulls. They all turned, some with only mild snickering, the others with moderate contempt and confusion. Any confidence that had existed, barely forming to begin with, was promptly sucked out into the judging cluster and smothered with each passing second.

He quickly shook his head, swallowing deeply, "So, uh, I thought we'd start off with a team building exercise!"

The deafening silence was almost enough to make him curl in on himself, and it was hard not to, but somehow he managed to keep up his slightly pained smile.

"It's like a scavenger hunt! Teams of four will compete against each other to find three magically powered disks that'll be hidden somewhere in the forest, all within a twenty minute time limit. The winner gets first pick of Charmy's food once she's done cooking!"

The only real reaction seemed to come from the Black Bulls, who jostled each other with vicious grins. Most of the Golden Dawn pulled faces, bitter visages of confusion and hesitance. They certainly had never tasted mana replenishing cuisine before. At the very least, Hamon and the trio had the good manner to look moderately interested.

"So, uh, first things first—teams!" The false excitement was grating even to his own ears. "Since the goal for today is squad cooperation, we're going to mix groups!"

Finally, his words were met with a reaction. Was it a good reaction? No. But it was one nonetheless, so some satisfaction was gleaned from it despite the raucous groaning from his squad and the queasy looks from the other. The rushing whispers from the Golden Dawn were beginning to mount and build as the rest of the Black Bulls collectively rolled their eyes.

Klaus, at least, looked somewhat excited. Finral couldn't resist sending the quickest wink his way, heavily enjoying the rampant blush that sprouted on the other knight's face as he forcefully looked away.

Mimosa and Yuno glanced at each other and their superior, rolling their eyes in a sort of exasperated tandem. Finral forced himself away before they could catch his eyes and glare. They were surprisingly protective when they wanted to be.

That unfortunately meant he had to focus on the new conversation sprouting around him, the harsh words muttered through gritted teeth, the judging, cutting glares. He had grown used to them, of course, but to have them happen here, at his home, his base...

"That's enough!" Klaus' voice rang out, snapping him back just as quickly. 

Gone was the flustered man of only a few seconds ago, replaced by the soldier who'd trained for years; the set of his shoulders and mouth made him threatening, a fearsome figure that demanded utter focus. Finral blinked, taking in a shuddering breath. This was new.

"We're here because Captain Vangeance decided to make amends, to build bridges with other squads. Our job is to protect the kingdom and the best way to do that is with the help of other magic knights. We can no longer continue shunning them and putting ourselves on pedestals, that behavior is what led to our downfall, the Eye of the Midnight Sun preyed on our arrogance to their advantage. It is uncomfortable to admit it, I understand that, truly, but that is no excuse to deny the parts we played, even unknowingly. Now, we will treat the Black Bulls, who've proved themselves over and over again for basic respect they should've already been given, like the accomplished group they are and participate _graciously_ in this exercise. Am I clear?"

Silence of both groups reigned in the aftermath of his words, the swelling of leaves and the rustling of grass the only noise that dared to be heard.

" _Am I clear_?" He repeated with force. 

Slowly, most of the Golden Dawn nodded, and those who didn't averted their eyes and didn't dare defy more than gritting their teeth. And in that regard, it was only Alecdora.

"Good." Klaus turned away from his group, tightening his crossed arms uncomfortably as he looked back at Finral, "Please, continue."

Finral swallowed, feeling something lodge in his throat. Jerkily, he nodded.

"Right, of course." Had his tongue always been so dry and heavy? "So, um, the first thing we'll be doing is separating randomly into groups—"

"Oh fearless leader, aren't you forgetting something?" Vanessa sang out.

Finral glared at her as she grinned with a smug tilt, hands on hips as she swayed in place.

"What do you mean, Vanessa?"

"Well it's not like you've set anything up yet, right?"

He stilled, very visibly glaring at her as he spoke through faltering annoyance, "No. I have not. And you brought this up because…?"

"I'm just suggesting you go take care of it and leave the sorting to us, y'know?" She winked.

Clenching his fists, his jaw tensing with them, he very calmly replied, "Well. Since you're so clearly insisting upon it…"

"Excellent!" She cheered, propping herself up on Zora, who only rolled his eyes as she rested an elbow on top of his shoulder, before shooting a sly glance at the trio, "Klaus, why don't you go give him a hand? He could probably use someone smart."

Finral blinked for a moment. Oh. His face split into a wide smile as Vanessa rolled her eyes.

Klaus, on the other hand, had immediately started spluttering nonsense. Mimosa sighed as she pushed him forward, waving him off as Yuno stared on with piercing judgement.

Finral didn't hesitate opening a portal, blinking one into existence almost immediately as Klaus came up behind him.

"Yuno, Mimosa, please keep everything under control for a little bit." The tension underlying the request was faint, but still noticeable.

Yuno scoffed, "Like it'll be hard."

Klaus stiffly nodded, hesitating briefly before finally stepping through the shimmering pool of magic that Finral had conjured up. 

Finral looked toward Vanessa, "Think you can handle it?"

She shooed him on, "Go, go, I'm more than capable."

Shaking his head, he looked back toward the portal. Finral, with bated breath, followed Klaus, sealing the way behind them.

* * *

Klaus hadn't had much time to consider what to do once he'd crossed through the familiar threshold, the lurch of magic on his body more than familiar as new surroundings rushed to form around him.

The natural light was abundant, streaming in through the windows and hitting the bricked walls with a hazy, bright tint that washed over everything. It was a bedroom, he had time to realize that as he caught sight of a bed with its headboard pushed against the middle of the wall, his eyes trailing the moderate mess of papers from the nightstand to the desk next to the bookcase wedged in the corner. A quick revolution confirmed the room to be relatively small despite the furniture, and that was the last coherent thought he had as he turned and warm hands suddenly clutched his shoulders.

The buzzing of words and lines of reasoning fizzled out as an eager mouth met his own, the force behind it enough to send him stumbling back into the wall. The surprise of the kiss was enough to keep him still for a moment.

But the added presence of Finral's arm shooting out next to his head and the continued weight of his body pressing against him spurred Klaus on. Tilting his head to accommodate, he pushed back as he steadied his hands on Finral's chest.

His lungs ached, deep and heavy as a hot spark jumped back and forth with the ebb and flow of their familiar rhythm. Frissons of heat shot up from the base of his spine, buzzing just underneath his skin, desperately waiting, wanting.

With great pain to himself, Klaus pulled away, leaning the back of his head against the wall as he caught his breath.

Finral sighed, letting his head drop to Klaus' shoulder.

"Not that I don't enjoy this…" Klaus admitted with only a minor change in color, "but is it really wise to do this now?"

Finral brought his head back up for a glare.

"It's not like I can pop us anywhere more private, and going to my room conserves mana." Finral looked away, "Besides, you know this is what Vanessa probably meant, and actually setting up should only take a couple of minutes. And… I just… I wanted to salvage a bit of our day, ya know?"

Klaus stopped, completely and utterly, as something shuddered inside of him. Icy little bits of emotion built on his breath, curling so effortlessly as it sharpened the burning need already there.

He swallowed, "Well… I wouldn't be… opposed if we were to continue…"

Finral grinned, leaning in.

"But." Finral stopped with a frown as Klaus continued, "We're not going any further while we're here."

There was only a mild pout at that, "Are you sure? I mean, not to be _that_ guy, but this really wouldn't be the first time someone's brought a person here to… have fun with. So if that's what you're worried about..."

Klaus shook his head, "No, it just… would feel too weird." He paused, considering something before horror flashed over his features, "Isn't the base _connected_ to Henry?"

Finral's face broke apart, his eyes widening in utter shock as practically jumped away from Klaus.

"Oh. Oh _no_." He clasped a hand over his mouth as he began pacing back and forth, "Oh god, I'm going to have to make Vanessa apologize for _hours_ straight."

Klaus slumped back, "That's probably a good idea."

Finral groaned, stopping in the middle of the room, "Ugh, I can't believe I almost listened to her."

Klaus cocked his head, "She wasn't exactly wrong. I _do_ want to have some time with you."

Finral flushed.

"But perhaps not in the way she meant."

He nodded, not meeting his eyes. "She has no shame."

"It's impressive, really." Klaus considered thoughtfully, "She has such little regard for propriety, I must admit, I'm… envious of that at times."

Finral stuck his tongue out, "That may be true, and Vanessa wouldn't be Vanessa without her carelessness for rules, but I _like_ you. Stick in the mud and all."

Klaus rolled his eyes, "I said I was envious at times, but trust me, I have no plans for a drastic change in personality in the near future."

"Wonderful." Finral dramatically sighed, wiping a false tear away from his eye, "I'm so happy."

Klaus rolled his eyes, but not without affection, "You are utterly ridiculous."

"And you _like_ it." Finral teased.

"Perhaps. Perhaps not." He cocked his head, "But I'm certain you could convince me of its merits."

"Okay, okay, enough of that." Finral scoffed, "We can flirt after I'm done thoroughly digesting this new piece of traumatizing information."

"Just another day in the Magic Knights." Klaus sighed, crossing his arms. 

"You said it." Finral scoffed. He paused, before looking back at the other knight, "You know... Langris wants to meet with me today."

Klaus choked on nothing. " _What_?"

Finral chuckled, "I know, right? It was… weird."

"You didn't think to tell me about this until _now_?" Klaus indignantly questioned.

"Well it wasn't something I was really, like, considering! I love him but he can be… hard to deal with, you know?"

"I know perfectly well! He was my boss for three years!"

Finral blanched. "Right… sorry."

Klaus pinched the bridge of his nose. "No… don't be, I just… it's worrying, that's all."

"Hey, trust me, Langris is… difficult, but he's not gonna cause trouble. He's not your Vice Captain anymore at least, and he doesn't really talk to my dad now."

"Wonderful. That makes up for almost killing you."

"Klaus…" Finral sighed, stepping forward, "I can't… I've forgiven him for that, really."

"Forgive me for being apprehensive when he, again, almost killed you in front of a crowd. One that I, and the rest of your squad for the matter, were in."

"He wasn't in a good place mentally!"

Klaus raised an eyebrow. Finral took another step towards him, grabbing his crossed forearms and drawing them to him. A familiar, wondrous gesture that he had taken so long to get used to. Even now, it went a thrill up his spine. His arms ended up splayed outwards, Finral's laying on top of his own.

“I know he’s your brother and that you really want to make amends, but that doesn’t excuse years of belittling you, insulting you. I just…” Klaus sighed, looking off. “I don’t want to see you hurt again.”

Finral squeezed his upper arm gently, “Okay, I get that, I do. But… he was alone with them for so long. Their standards were… impossible, it’s no wonder he broke under the sheer pressure. And it seems like he wants to reconnect now, and I just… I wish we could’ve been normal siblings, you know? Without all those expectations getting in the way. I wish I could’ve _helped_ him more.”

Klaus uncomfortably shifted his weight, “I do know what it’s like to live with impossible expectations… but I’m very much a different person than Langris.”

“You still changed. Why can’t he?” Finral pleaded.

Klaus pointedly didn’t meet his eyes. “I… oh, fine, _fine_! You didn’t ever need my permission, but have it nonetheless.”

Finral grinned, “You’re right. But I wanted to have your understanding.”

“That one’s a bit more difficult.” Klaus grumbled, before the crease between his eyebrows smoothed out. “Just… be careful, alright?”

“Of course.” Finral agreed wholeheartedly, leaning in, “Don’t worry, it’s just a quick lunch. I’m sure we’ll be able to finish the team exercises first.”

‘Oh, I’d doubt that. I believe our Captain wanted us to spend the entire day here.” Klaus muttered, exasperation obvious in his voice, unconsciously shifting closer as well, “But don’t worry, I’m sure we can figure something out. How does your squad feel about trust falls?”

Finral snickered, “Oh, I’m sure they’d love that.”

“Wouldn’t they?” Klaus smiled, tilting his head forward, noses barely an inch away from brushing.

Finral closed the gap with an easy, soft kiss. It was a sigh on a warm summer’s day, deeply familiar and achingly affectionate in all regards. A melodramatic way of thinking about it, but he could not deny the bloom of balmy comfortability surging in his chest; curling out to his extremities with a sort of careful gentleness. Klaus pulled away, forehead resting on Finral’s, another irresistible support.

“Make sure to be careful in the very least.” Klaus warned, “You two are still competing for inheritance, it’s led better people to do terrible things.”

“I doubt he’s going to poison my tea.” Finral joked, “I thought we established that if he really wanted me out of the way he’d do something much more drastic.”

Klaus frowned as Finral quietly chuckled.

“It’s not funny.” He chastised, “I’m being serious!”

“Sorry, sorry. I know you’re just worried. But, I promise, I’ll be fine. I’ll call you if it all goes to hell, okay?”

“I hope it doesn’t come to that, but alright.” Klaus agreed.

“Now,” Finral stepped back, still clinging to the other man’s arms, “should we go set up one of the worst plans we’ve ever come up with?”

Klaus sighed, “If we must.”

“Wow, loving the excitement.’ Finral noted with a deadpan.

Klaus rolled his eyes, dropping his arms, “Do you want to go patch the holes in our story or not?”

“Alright, alright!” Finral raised his arms in mock defense. “Off we go! I just gotta portal around for a bit and drop these things off.” He gestured to a corner where the disks were haphazardly stacked on top of each other.

“I’ll grab them.” Klaus stepped away, quickly running over to scoop them up.

“You know…” Finral said, flexing his hands to open a portal, “I don’t think Henry’s magic extends into the forest.”

Klaus snorted, walking back with the disks piled in arms, “Maybe some other time, but we really do need to focus for now.”

Finral laughed, “I think you and I have very different ideas of what focuses us.”

Klaus swatted at his hand, shaking his head with a playful smirk, “There’s a time and a place.”

With that, he stepped through the glimmering pool of mana. The world lurched and melded into a new landscape, spitting him out into some random, isolated part of the woods. The warbling of the portal ceased, and he turned to see that Finral had undoubtedly followed. With that, basking in the silence of the day, they set off.

* * *

When Finral got back, hair definitely more mussed and sporting a reddened face, he had expected pandemonium, absolute chaos. Not that he didn’t trust Vanessa, but she—and the rest of the Black Bulls for that matter—did not have a particularly fantastic track record. Still, to see everything relatively calm, though still tense, was a wave of relief.

When the eyes of two squads turned to him expectantly, however, was an entirely different story. He felt them digging into his appearance, his composure. What had they noticed? Was he obvious? What kind of damage control would he have to run?

Then Klaus came up next to him, calm as ever, and with a brief nod of acknowledgement to Mimosa and Yuno, stayed perfectly collected. Finral almost felt offended. How in the world could he act so nonchalant after—

“Hey Finral!” Vanessa called out, breaking his train of thought, “You got everything cleared up?”

“Oh, um, yeah!” He weakly replied, scratching the back of his head.

“Wonderful.” She gave him a _wink_ of all things, and turned back to the groups, “We’ve got everything set up here too!”

“Oh, that’s great!” He tried to sound excited. It fell flat even to him.

Klaus shrugged, and began to step away, back to his own squad. Finral didn’t turn, though the lack of _him_ stung.

“You ready?” Vanessa continued, eyeing him with her usual piercing awareness.

He smiled, however falsely, “Yep. Let’s get started.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sjsjjsksks I'm so sorry this took so long but writers block, you know? I enjoy these idiots so much tho. At least we're getting places, setting up some drama. Hope you enjoyed.

**Author's Note:**

> So... haha... I'm back. I just can't stop writing these nerds man. Anyways this is just a taste of everything coming up, the drama will be spicy (Langris might make an appearance, oooo). I hope you enjoyed the first chapter!


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